IMPERIAL, Mo. — By now you've heard the terms "long COVID" or "long hauler." According to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan, more than 40% of COVID-19 survivors around the world currently have or have had long-term effects from the virus.
Imperial native Bob Boehm is one of them.
Boehm, 57, has always been a hardworking, physical guy. He drives a Big-Rig 10 hours a day, five days a week. So it might be hard to believe that the same guy was hospitalized with COVID for 3 months. He was put on a ventilator with just a 50% chance of surviving.
"I really thought that I wouldn't see my family again. I thought I was dead," Boehm said.
His wife Nora was at his side through it all. She remembers when they tried to take him off the ventilator for the first time.
"His blood pressure went up and his oxygen level dropped and they had to put him back on and that was a phone call I got at work and I was crying because I didn't know if he would ever come off of it," she said.
Before catching COVID in April of 2021, Boehm was a healthy guy. He says he only took vitamins and had no underlying health conditions. He'd had his first dose of the vaccine.
Boehm was released in early July and the journey towards recovery began.
He remembers what those first days were like.
“It was really tough not being able to walk or talk. Not being able to communicate I would ask for a pen or paper to write something down but I couldn't write," he said.
He considers his nurses and physical therapists at Mercy Rehab his heroes.
"He was one of the worst scenarios with COVID,” explained his primary nurse, Marwa Alhusian.
Maggie Cromien was his occupational therapist. “He was a special patient to us," she said. "He was very motivated, very grateful to get the opportunity to work with therapists and I just think perspective is a big part of recovering from something like that."
It was a long 7 months for Boehm and he's still not back to his old self.
"I have problems with vision in my left eye, my hands and feet are still numb," he explained.
Boehm almost didn't share his story because he says people are tired of hearing about COVID. But his conscience convinced him otherwise.
"Maybe that's why God let me live, so that I can talk to people about this. If I can change somebody's mind about this that would be awesome," he said.
For most people, symptoms of COVID-19 last an average of two weeks.
For long haulers like Bob, who has been battling this virus and its lingering effects for almost a year, it’s unclear how much longer symptoms might last. The numbness in his hands and feet are from nerve damage that neurologists say will correct over time.